What you need to know about IGTV

IGTV is kind of similar to Instagram Stories. You can create swipe up call-to-actions on both formats. But, instead of your video disappearing after 24 hours like it does for Stories, your IGTV channel will store your video.

Each IGTV channel is linked to an Instagram account. It operates similarly like Facebook and Messenger – two separate apps that work together.

The 1-hour long videos are only available to verified accounts or accounts with a large number of followers. For all other uses, there is a limit of 10-minutes

Viewers can like or comment on videos, and send directly to a friend

Strengthen Your Brand

IGTV gives creators the chance to develop stronger relationships with their audience and grow their preexisting followers on Instagram.

Alexis Ren, Instagram celebrity, with 12.9 million followers landed a spot on America’s Dancing With the Stars thanks to her huge social media following. She has since used IGTV to show her rehearsals, performances and behind the scenes footage that has helped her avoid elimination each week.

Create Original Content

Many celebrities and news channels are already making good use of IGTV. Petra Collin’s IGTV channel received plenty of attention when she uploaded several trailers for a new horror short starring Selena Gomez that will be uploaded directly to IGTV for release.

Other stars like Jimmy Fallon are trying to capitalise on more than 1 billion Instagram users by sharing segments of his Tonight Show straight to IGTV.

Mobile Friendly

Instagram and IGTV have been created to be extremely mobile friendly. Whereas YouTube videos are best viewed on a desktop and are shown horizontal, IGTV has been developed to be mobile-friendly. This makes sense as recent statistics show that 54% of Australians prefer to use mobile phones when browsing social media.

Plan a strategy

If you’re planning on starting an IGTV channel, don’t just jump right into it. It’s important to have a video strategy in place. Some key things to remember for IGTV are:

Write a short script

Stick to your brand’s visual aesthetic

Know your target audience

Measure the performance of video to improve future content

IGTV is more appealing for amateur content, so you don’t need to worry about fancy editing and soundtracks that are expected on YouTube.

A good way to think of IGTV is just an extension of Instagram Stories.

If you’re ready to create a channel, open the IGTV app and follow the steps below. Good luck!